BUSINESS: Conservatives Angry at Starbucks Over Cup Quotes

The Starbucks coffee chain has introduced a new program entitled The Way I See It. Every cup of Starbucks coffee is printed with a quote from some of our great thinkers and celebrities. What has caught the eye (and ire) of some conservatives is that most of the contributors are well known to be liberal, and their quotes reflect those ideals.



These are some of the contributors, I've never even heard of a lot of them, myself:


Youssou N'Dour
Walter Mosley
Yvon Chouinard
Al Franken
Roger Ebert
Stephin Merritt
Goldie Hawn
Mitch Albom
Bob Blumer
Dr. Louise Leakey
Aaron Lieberman
Keith Olbermann
Melissa Etheridge
Sue Bird
Jonah Goldberg
Quincy Jones
Leigh & Leslie Keno
Philip Levine
Alice Randall
Erykah Badu
Noah benShea

You can submit your own quotes too. So more than likely the Freepers will get a hold of it and there will be Reagan quotes on there in no time.

As the one person in the article stated, it's not what's on the cup, it's whats in it. This is one of those things that it's sill to get worked up about, in my opinion.

However, this does go to show you that not all big business is Republican.

Related News Links:
www.starbucks.com



[edit on (3/27/0505 by PistolPete]

You couldn't even BEGIN to convince me that the ones who are upset about this wouldn't HESITATE to do the same thing backwards. (All conservative quotes, with no liberals in sight).
They're just upset because they can't control something.
It's THEIR cups...they can do whatever they want with'em! waaaaaah.

It's their cups. they can do as they wish.

At least it appears to be less offensive than the previous promotional scandal that broke out with Starbucks with that "Collapse Into Cool" ad from early 2002 in which some people complained it reminded them too much of 9/11.

Originally posted by PistolPete
However, this does to go show you that not all big business is Republican.

Starbucks knows it's market I'd say. They don't call them latte liberals for nothing.

Plus the list of contributors seems almost more environmental and global than anything and that's just in keeping with the "rain forest" and "global village" themes ascribed to by the chain.

Quoting Reagen not only seems counterintuitive, but how about frailing stupid?

"A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?"
--Ronald Reagan (Governor of California), quoted in the Sacramento Bee, opposing expansion of Redwood National Park, March 3, 1966

"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk."
--Ronald Reagan (Republican candidate for president), quoted in the Burlington (Vermont) Free Press, February 15, 1980. (In reality, the average nuclear reactor generates 30 tons of radioactive waste per year.)

"I have flown twice over Mount St. Helens. I'm not a scientist and I don't know the figures, but I have a suspicion that one little mountain out there, in these last several months, has probably released more sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere than has been released in the last ten years of automobile driving or things of that kind."
--Ronald Reagan, quoted in Time magazine, October 20, 1980. (According to scientists, Mount St. Helens emitted about 2,000 tons of sulfur dioxide per day at its peak activity, compared with 81,000 tons per day produced by cars.)

"Fair & Balanced" coffee cups. :shk:

I Keep thinking what qualifies as a good quote--" Mr. Gorbachov, tear down that wall,"? Nah, that came from a speech writer--anyone have any Conservative quotes worth putting on a cup?

Originally posted by kazi
I Keep thinking what qualifies as a good quote--" Mr. Gorbachov, tear down that wall,"? Nah, that came from a speech writer--anyone have any Conservative quotes worth putting on a cup?

Absolutely. But it's really not political at all if you read them. I don't think they're "liberal quotes" either in as much as quotes from people that some think are liberal.

The Way I See It #3
"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from."

-- Al Franken

The response (posted by Starbucks):

“The Way I See It” #3 -- Al Franken (Read the quote)

As a stockholder since 1993 and an avid Starbucks fan, I was very disappointed to see Starbucks use a quote from Al Franken. Mr. Franken’s political leanings, as well as his attacks on conservatives in general and our President specifically, are offensive. I am disappointed that Starbucks would feature such a biased individual.

I suggest you play it safe and use more moderate individuals and avoid offending dedicated Starbucks fans. I don’t think Starbucks wants to be in a position of promoting political viewpoints.
--Deborah Lysek, Claremont CA

What an AWESOME marketing idea. Make people talk about your "controversy" in the news. Deborah should be happy Starbucks is looking out for her investments.

How's that for "conservative" leanings?

Wow, I'd boycott if I ever actually ever bought anything from them to begin with.

I am a coffee addict and Starbucks Toffee nut latte is my favorite I drink a 20oz one all the time.

Yeah I love and support my local Starbucks and I live in a conservative state, and people here Conservative and liberals supports them as well.

Originally posted by kazi
...anyone have any Conservative quotes worth putting on a cup?

"Who could have possibly envisioned an erection — an election in Iraq at this point in history?" —George W. Bush

"The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he were the president of the United States, and the world would be a lot better off." —George W. Bush

Course I would probably laugh most of the coffee out of my nose as I read those

This is the quote from Denis Hayes of the Earthday Network:

"Zeroes are important. A million seconds ago was last week. A billion seconds ago, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. A trillion seconds ago was 30,000 BC, and early humans were using stone tools. America’s national debt is now $7.5 trillion, and it’s skyrocketing, even as America’s population ages. There will never be a better time to start paying off this crippling debt than today."

I really don't see anything wrong with that. At all. I probably disagree with this guy ideologically at nearly every level, but there's no reason to get angry over a quote that's making sense. Although I guess that's pretty common anymore.

anyone have any Conservative quotes worth putting on a cup?

Pat Buchanan has some suprisingly good ones:

No one has deputized America to play Wyatt Earp to the world.

Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich

I hate Starbucks (Fourbucks, it's called around here). Give me a Dunkin Donuts anyday.

I like Starbucks. I do think they should put some Bushisms in their quotes

Awwww.....that would be funny. I'd start collecting all their cups.

Originally posted by dgtempe
I like Starbucks. I do think they should put some Bushisms in their quotes

"working hard to put food on your family" would be the perfect Bush quote for this use dg!

Originally posted by PistolPete

anyone have any Conservative quotes worth putting on a cup?

Pat Buchanan has some suprisingly good ones:

No one has deputized America to play Wyatt Earp to the world.

Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich

Oh he would be good. Or some Ike, Bob Barr, Lincoln, I mean even Reagan or Bush as long as it didn't contradict the beliefs of the chain. But on a fundamental level, they just do.

Starbucks is a very unusal company. Highly responsible. They start employees at $9 an hour with incredible flexibility and benefits and always rank high on the list of the best companies for employees.

I just can' t see them "caving" to outrage or a boycott as long as it gets them the press they set out to get.

Like I said, they know their market....

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Wow, I'd boycott if I ever actually ever bought anything from them to begin with.

Originally posted by jsobecky
I hate Starbucks (Fourbucks, it's called around here). Give me a Dunkin Donuts anyday.

They're probably begging for a high profile conservative "boycott."

Also that "Zeroes" quote was awesome Pete.

[edit on 26-3-2005 by RANT]

Coffee shoppes have become such a huge thing that conservatives actually care what is said on them?

Is the divide in America so bad that people will or wont drink form somewhere now because of a bunch of quotes?

More quotes for starbucks.

"I repeat, personal accounts do not permanently fix the solution." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005

"In this job you've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis; you don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, 'How do you think my standing will be?'" —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005

"You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —George W. Bush, to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

If quotes like that are printed on cups I would collect them too.

Star#s could put Chomsky quotes on thier cups for all I care, they would still suck IMHO.

spacehijackers.co.uk...

Originally posted by Umbrax
Is the divide in America so bad that people will or wont drink form somewhere now because of a bunch of quotes?

Perhaps. But a few weeks ago when I went to the beach with some people (yes, I know people) we stumbled into a local pancake house the morning after a Wilco show and were greeted with circa 1970 placemats citing the Lord's Prayer and talking about "the government" and things it's done to "us" and how America was "ruined" when "they" took God out of public schools and won't be right again until "we" put God back.

And I ate those pancakes. I laughed the whole time, but I ate those pancakes and they were good.

I even helped the little lost sheep find his way through the maze to Jesus, but I ate those pancakes without complaint.

Or was it an omelette? Like I said I was stumbling.

But that's a man that does not know his market. Though lucky for him his market couldn't care less what he thinks.

[edit on 26-3-2005 by RANT]

From ANOK's site

"starbucks is neo liberal global capitalist"



Guess that would make Halliburton

"neo conservative private communist gathering"